Feeling Inspired After Sustainable Building Week
I’m feeling inspired and energized here at Creative Neighborhoods after attending last week’s events for Sustainable Building Week! From the WISE (Women in Sustainable Endeavors) gathering to the Afro Village PDX talk, I walked away with a head full of ideas and new ways Creative Neighborhoods can collaborate and better serve our community.
Sustainable Northwest Wood hosted the WISE event, featuring an incredible lineup of speakers:
Lina Menard – Helm Construction Solutions
Aria Joughin – Make With Hardware & Learning Center
Christy Covington – Tree to Table
Melissa Wellspring – Wellspring Fine Art
Alison Lelko – Lovett Deconstruction
Valerie Cary – Sankofa Lumber
Loni Gray – Neighborhood PlaceMakers
Sarah Deumling – Zena Forest Products
Anyeley Hallova – Adre Development
Heidi Janowski – Blanchet House
I’m especially grateful to Sustainable Northwest Wood for their ongoing support of Creative Neighborhoods and Pickathon this year — generously providing both wood and material transportation for our projects. Their partnership helped make our builds possible and more sustainable from the ground up.
Each of these women is leading inspiring, hands-on work in sustainability, building, and community resilience. I highly recommend checking out their projects and learning more about the amazing things they have in motion.
If you don’t yet know about Afro Village PDX, you should! Creative Neighborhoods had the honor of collaborating with the Afro Village team at this year’s Pickathon. The vendor booths originally built for the Windmill Neighborhood are now being transformed into greenhouses for the Afro Futurism Oasis, a visionary new community site.
During their presentation, Executive Director LaQuida Landford, designer Ky Lattin, and finance manager Kirk Rea shared the rich history of the property, the creative reuse of TriMet train cars in the design, and the exciting future programs planned for the site.
This was my first year attending Sustainable Building Week, but it certainly won’t be my last. I left feeling connected, motivated, and eager to collaborate with the incredible organizations and leaders who are shaping a more sustainable and equitable future.
